Politics in Bolivia :: Essays on Politics

Politics in Bolivia Bolivia is a country located in the central part of South America. As one of the poorest countries in the region, Bolivia entered the XXI century carrying a vast population in extreme poverty. Bolivia has also faced the fate of those countries that don't have a shoreline, which has had a significant negative impact on its commerce, economy and overall development. The most outstanding issue affecting the social, economic and political dimensions of Bolivia's life is clearly the problem of the exportation of Bolivia's natural gas reserves. This is a very complex problem with deeply rooted social, political and historical elements. To understand the current situation in Bolivia we must go back to the IXX century. Bolivia lost a significant amount of territory in a War against Chile during the last part of the IXX century, thus losing access to the Pacific Ocean. Peru, another South American country, tried to help Bolivia, fighting against Chile during this war. As a consequence Peru also lost a significant amount of territory to Chile. Since then Bolivia has tried to regain access to he Pacific Ocean by several diplomatic means. Bolivia has unsuccessfully requested to Chile and Peru to be given a peace of sovereign territory in the coast, including a corridor that would allow Bolivians to connect to a peace of shoreline. Bolivia feels today more than ever the disadvantage of not owning a shoreline. Bolivia has vast deposits of natural gas, which they hope to export to other countries such as U.S and Mexico. Bolivia has engaged in negotiations with Peru and Chile in order to use a sea port in one of these countries to ship the gas to foreign markets. The previous Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada formed a technical team that evaluated the feasibility and benefits of a project that would use a Peruvian or a Chilean sea port to export Bolivian gas. The project should include a pipeline to be built between Bolivia and the sea-port to transport the gas from the natural deposit. After an extended evaluation this team recommended to use a Chilean port on basis of cost benefits. The Bolivian government then accepted these recommendations and started to engage in negotiations with Chilean companies. After making public the intentions of exporting Bolivian gas through Chilean facilities, the government faced a tremendous reaction from a significant amount of the population and some political sectors of Bolivian congress. The leader of the socialist movement, Evo Morales, called to other Bolivian sectors to rise against government intentions to use Chilean ports to export the Gas. Several labor and farmer unions joined the protests Politics in Bolivia :: Essays on Politics Politics in Bolivia Bolivia is a country located in the central part of South America. As one of the poorest countries in the region, Bolivia entered the XXI century carrying a vast population in extreme poverty. Bolivia has also faced the fate of those countries that don't have a shoreline, which has had a significant negative impact on its commerce, economy and overall development. The most outstanding issue affecting the social, economic and political dimensions of Bolivia's life is clearly the problem of the exportation of Bolivia's natural gas reserves. This is a very complex problem with deeply rooted social, political and historical elements. To understand the current situation in Bolivia we must go back to the IXX century. Bolivia lost a significant amount of territory in a War against Chile during the last part of the IXX century, thus losing access to the Pacific Ocean. Peru, another South American country, tried to help Bolivia, fighting against Chile during this war. As a consequence Peru also lost a significant amount of territory to Chile. Since then Bolivia has tried to regain access to he Pacific Ocean by several diplomatic means. Bolivia has unsuccessfully requested to Chile and Peru to be given a peace of sovereign territory in the coast, including a corridor that would allow Bolivians to connect to a peace of shoreline. Bolivia feels today more than ever the disadvantage of not owning a shoreline. Bolivia has vast deposits of natural gas, which they hope to export to other countries such as U.S and Mexico. Bolivia has engaged in negotiations with Peru and Chile in order to use a sea port in one of these countries to ship the gas to foreign markets. The previous Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada formed a technical team that evaluated the feasibility and benefits of a project that would use a Peruvian or a Chilean sea port to export Bolivian gas. The project should include a pipeline to be built between Bolivia and the sea-port to transport the gas from the natural deposit. After an extended evaluation this team recommended to use a Chilean port on basis of cost benefits. The Bolivian government then accepted these recommendations and started to engage in negotiations with Chilean companies. After making public the intentions of exporting Bolivian gas through Chilean facilities, the government faced a tremendous reaction from a significant amount of the population and some political sectors of Bolivian congress. The leader of the socialist movement, Evo Morales, called to other Bolivian sectors to rise against government intentions to use Chilean ports to export the Gas. Several labor and farmer unions joined the protests